Whispers in the Dark
by Kyoshi7989
Summary: For me, it's always dark, always night. Blindness has never been a problem, though, I can see perfeclty well. But lately, I've begun to wonder if I'm blind in other ways...' And so Toph's story begins...TophxZuko. ABANDONED
1. Chapter 1

For me, it's always night, always dark. Blindness has never been a problem, though; I can "see" perfectly well. But lately, I've begun to wonder if I'm blind in other ways…

I've known Zuko for a long time. At first, he was just some angry freak with a ponytail and a waste of oxygen. We were enemies, you know? I didn't really bother to look past all his anger and hatred.

Then he came over to _my_ side-the side of _good_. Not just my side, Katara and Aang and Sokka and Iroh's side. That changed a lot. Yeah, right. Zuko was just as angry and hate-filled and difficult as ever.

At first I thought he ignored me or thought I was just a stupid 12 year old. Then, I commented that Princess (his nickname) was actually not half bad at bending, for a deaf hog monkey.

To my, and everyone else's surprise, he just sighed and said, "You know I hate to admit it, but you're actually starting to grow on me."

As time passed, Zuko was eventually accepted into our group, more or less. Probably had something to do with the fact that Iroh, Aang's Firebending teacher, kept telling us about all the goofy things Zuko did when he was a kid. Or maybe it had more to do with finding out about Zuko's scar. Either way, I was starting to grow on Zuko, and he was starting to grow on me, too.

The day of the eclipse came. We were all gathered together as a group, for what could be the last time. "Well, I-I guess we should say goodbye. Just in case, I mean." Katara's voice shook. One thing I do regret about being blind is that I'll never be able to tell what people are thinking by their expression. Somehow, though, I thought Sokka would have looked very sober and that Aang would have had this really sad look in his big, round eyes.

At that moment, I knew that in a way none of us would ever come back. We had all reached a crossroads, a place of no return. Whatever happened here, no tracks could be retraced, no lives relived, no mistakes fixed.

"No," I said firmly, "Goodbyes are for people who aren't coming back." Yet I still hugged Sokka, Aang and Katara. Zuko…well, I gave him a friendly punch in the arm. Everyone just looked at each other, or so I imagined. Then, Aang determinedly turned away and ventured into the battle. Sokka and Katara followed him, leaving Zuko and me together at the Edge of the World.

"So," he finally said, "I guess this is it. No turning back now." It was strange how his words echoed my thoughts. "I just want you to know, I've always thought you're a great Earthbender."

I nodded, deciding not to say, "That's _Miss_ Best Earthbender in the World to you."

Zuko took a deep breath and charged forward, letting out a deep battle cry. I lingered a little longer, wanting to stay there forever and not have to know or care what happened next. But I knew that there was no running from whatever lay ahead. I only hoped that we could all escape with our lives. I took a running leap forward and began taking down Firebenders right and left.

Somewhere in the midst of all that fighting, I heard a voice scream. A voice I recognized. My stomach tightened and I immediately began making my way towards where the noise had come from. I prayed that I was wrong; I prayed it wasn't him.

But deep down, I already knew the answer. Death was coming.


	2. Chapter 2

I weaved through the battle, barely missing swinging clubs and blasts of fire. One time, I heard an explosion and felt a jet of white-hot fire graze my cheek. I knew I had just missed being struck by lighting, and silently promised myself I would be more careful.

Suddenly, I 'saw' I limp body lying on the ground. Strangely, no one else was around, almost as if being near it would be bad luck. I slowed down, pausing a few feet away from the fallen body. "Zuko?" I asked tentatively.

He moaned and rolled over onto his back, exposing his face. I reached down and ran my fingers over the left side of his face-just to check for his scar, I told myself.

Recognizing the feel of burnt skin, tears prickled my eyes. I had hoped that this was just some fallen soldier, but now I knew. Without realizing to, I grasped Zuko's hand. It was at this time he chose to open his eyes.

"Toph?" He sounded as though he thought I was a dream, like if he blinked I would turn out to be a hallucination. "Is it you?"

I dropped his hand and began to pull away, embarrassed. "No, don't," Zuko croaked. "Please." I nodded and reached for his hand once more.

We stayed there in silence for a few moments. Finally, I licked my lips and said, "Who hurt you?"

There was a growl deep in Zuko's throat. "Azula, that little witch. She struck me with lightning. I tried to redirect it, but…"

My hand twitched. I already knew it must have passed through Zuko's heart and injured him. Iroh had explained some of the more complicated aspects of Firebending to me; I privately wondered why Zuko had not died immediately.

"We could get Katara. To heal you. She'll be able to, I'm sure she will."

"Toph?" Zuko's voice sounded fainter than ever. "If-when-I die, do you promise to let go?"

Panic rushed through me. "Shut up, Zuko, don't say that, you're going to live and get through all of this, and _don't you ever say that_." I surprised even myself by the fierceness in my voice.

"I didn't say I was going to die today, Toph. But someday…do you promise to let go? Please, will you?" Zuko asked.

I didn't answer his question directly. "What's all this stuff about 'letting go' anyway? I mean, it's just-"

"Toph." Zuko interrupted, and his voice was so firm and determined I fell quiet right away. "Answer the question. Please. I just want to know, _will you let go_? If you can't, then why bother to hold on?"  
I didn't really understand what he was saying, so I just said, "Zuko, I'll do whatever you want. Just promise you _won't ever say that_."

"Fine, I won't ever say that. But like you were saying, could we find Katara? As much as I enjoy talking to you, my rather painful, still bleeding wounds are taking some of the fun out of it." I looked up, alarmed.

"Well, why didn't you _tell_ me they were bleeding? I do have bandages, you know!"

"Well maybe if you'd bother to _look_ I wouldn't have to tell you!" Zuko snapped.

"Oh, yeah," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I mean, it's not like I'm _blind_ or anything. That would be _really_ crazy, don't you think?"

"Oh. Well, um, uh, I guess what I mean is-" Zuko sounded embarrassed.

"Are you going to keep talking my ear off, Princess, or can I give you these bandages?" I gently put the roll of bandages in his hand.

Zuko began to wrap the bandages around his injured shoulder and leg, but I had to help him bandage his shoulder because he couldn't do it himself.

"I think that's good enough." Zuko gingerly stretched his shoulder. "Can you um, help me get up? I mean, if you don't-"

"I don't mind," I interrupted, reaching out my hand to him. He seized it and began to struggle up. We were locked in a battle of pushes and pulls for a moment, until I suddenly yanked his hand in an effort to finally get Zuko standing. Instead he – you guessed it – fell on top of me.

Zuko tumbled over, nearly crushing me. "Get off of me!" I snapped, using Earthbending to heave myself up.

Zuko sounded embarrassed. "I, er, um, uh…"

"Quite the conversationalist, aren't you?" I muttered, grabbing hold of his hand and forcibly dragging him into the battle. "Come on, we're going to find Katara."

As we dodged through the battle, avoiding blasts of fire and juts of earth, my mind was elsewhere. All I could think about was the feeling of Zuko's heart beat and his warm breath on my cheek.


End file.
